African driver insists he is Filipino

Cameroonian presents forged driving licence

The Dubai Criminal Court of First Instance sentenced a Cameroonian, who used a forged driving licence that mentioned the driver’s nationality as Filipino, to three months in jail.

KTS, 26, was also ordered to be deported after serving his jail term.

According to the records, KTS insisted to a policeman who had stopped him to check his driving licence and car’s registration papers that he holds the Philippines nationality.

First Corporal Ali Saud testified that on September 28, at around 12.45, while he was managing the traffic at the arrivals area of Dubai Airport, he noticed that a Hyundai car that carried a tourist company’s logo was waiting at the passenger loading layby.

“An African driver was sitting in the car. As stopping the car there is against rules, I went to him and asked him to show his driving licence and the car’s registration paper.

“He presented a photocopy of the car’s registration paper but not his driving licence. I suspected him and when I asked him again to show his driving licence, he presented its photocopy. Checking the licence, I found out that the driver’s nationality was shown Cameroonian in English and Filipino in Arabic though he looked like an African.

“When I questioned him, he insisted that he had obtained Philippines nationality when he was there six years ago. He was taken to the office to double check the driving licence. It was found that the licence belonged to a Filipino. When confronted, the accused confessed to forging the licence. He said he had arrived in UAE two months ago and as he needed a driving licence, he had asked a compatriot to help him get one. He said he had paid Dh500 for the forged licence, “ Ali Saud testfieid.